FFSC_34

Chapter 34: Falling Out

Chen Moqing's eyelashes lowered slightly, watching the little snow-white beast that had circled around him, bouncing and jumping for several rounds. He reached out his hand and caught the small fluffy ball that bounced back into his palm.

The soft, squishy little fluffy ball began to rub against him, rubbing against his fingers and nuzzling against his wrist, the furry little bundle rubbing about everywhere.

Its snow-white fur was fluffy and full, its slender tail wagging rapidly back and forth, and before he knew it, it had wound itself around his wrist, its head burrowing into his palm, pressing tightly against him.

A sticky little white sugar cake.

"Meow."

He heard that small, small voice: 【You're not leaving, are you?】

It was a question, and also a confirmation.

Chen Moqing: "When did I ever say I was leaving?"

The little furry head buried in his palm made no sound, its pair of beast ears tilting up slightly, pressing softly against his fingertips.

Chen Moqing brushed at the round, soft beast ears, feeling the little fluffy ball begin to nuzzle against him again.

He stood up, holding the soft and fluffy little snow-white beast, and walked through the parasol-tree courtyard, entering the house.

The door had just been closed when the round little fluffy ball landed on the ground and transformed into a massive snow-white demonic beast, stepping onto the thick woolen blanket.

A snow mountain leaned and loomed, enveloping the young human amid the undulating mountain ranges.

【Even if the demon realm falls into great chaos, you need not worry】

Cang Shun lowered his head, pressing against Chen Moqing's raven-black hair, rubbing gently against it again and again.

【I will protect you】

【Once matters in this realm are settled, if you wish to take revenge, to kill your way up to the Tianshu Sect, to overturn the Nine Thousand Prefectures— I will accompany you through all of it】

The crimson demonic eyes locked deeply onto that pair of clear, deep black eyes. The Demon Emperor pressed his forehead against the young human's, and said in a low voice: 【So, it's fine even if the contract isn't dissolved】

As long as there was a contract, this human would stay by his side forever.

Even those of the same clan from the past would scheme against one another; even dao companions and kin could grow apart and be scattered.

Only a contract was the most unbreakable shackle.

"……"

Soft fur enveloped him, the powerful and massive demonic beast seeming to become an insurmountable mountain.

Chen Moqing raised his eyes, meeting that pair of fathomless demonic pupils.

"Does His Majesty the Demon Emperor mean to make me a bird in your cage?"

The moment the words fell, that pair of demonic pupils flickered slightly still.

Chen Moqing's expression did not change, and word by word, resounding and firm, he said: "If I stay, it must come from my own heart. If I wish to leave, even if the Heavenly Dao itself descended, it could not keep me."

The eyes of a human cultivator were a clear, deep lake, and also a lake with a sword buried beneath it. The sword lay hidden under the lake, its edge undefeated.

Cang Shun gazed at that pair of eyes, as if gazing at a sharp blade that would sooner or later be unsheathed, its edge astonishing to the world,

He himself was a true dragon soaring straight into the sky, by no means a fish in a pond, nor a bird in a cage.

…Even if he had selfish desires, he did not wish to grind away that edge of his.

The Demon Emperor slowly bent down, again pressing his forehead against the young human's, rubbing against it slowly once more.

【Two years】

Cang Shun said in a low voice.

【Wait another two years, will that be alright?】

【At most two years, my cultivation will fully recover, and by then… I will sever the contract between you and me】

By then, whether this person left or stayed, he…

His tail wound around the young human's slender waist, and Cang Shun said nothing, only gently enveloping this person beneath his own form.

Chen Moqing: "Alright."

Two years' time, how brief it was, no more than a snap of the fingers.

To sever the contract was also to sever the shackles that burdened the Demon Emperor. By then, heaven and earth would be vast and open, and this Demon Emperor, born to stand above all the heavens, would no longer be bound because of him.

Hearing that crisp, clean reply, Cang Shun lowered his eyes.

…At least, at least this person had said he would not leave.

He promised me.

The great furry bundle that was the Demon Emperor began once again to nuzzle wordlessly against the human beside him, and with one push, pressed him against the wall.

His back met the cold surface of the wall, and before Chen Moqing could say anything, Cang Shun immediately raised his head: 【Did that hurt you?】

Chen Moqing patted that mass of fur: "How could it."

Cang Shun said nothing, slowly turning back into the small snow-white beast, and leapt onto his shoulder.

He lay down there, listless and wilted.

Chen Moqing: "……"

He raised a hand and poked at this Demon Emperor, ruffling that soft fur.

The small snow-white beast twisted, rolling over to press down on his fingers, that pair of crimson demonic pupils still drooping, gazing at him listlessly.

Chen Moqing raised his other hand as well, teasing that slender tail, stroking down along the soft spine, smoothing this Demon Emperor's fur.

After smoothing it for a long while, the small snow-white beast remained listless still, its whole coat of fur drooping, not fluffing up in the slightest.

A faint, barely perceptible sigh rose in Chen Moqing's heart, and he spoke: "When the day comes that I can break through to the Nascent Soul stage, I will still need you to guard me during my breakthrough."

Hearing these words, the previously wilted little snow-white beast suddenly lifted its head, its pupils growing brighter by several degrees.

【A trivial matter】

Cang Shun took hold of Chen Moqing's hand, giving it a gentle shake: 【You are already at the peak of Golden Core, why not just today?】

Chen Moqing held that paw back in return: "No rush, my cultivation is not yet stable."

The corner of Cang Shun's mouth lifted slightly: 【Then once everything is ready for you, tell me!】

After speaking, the little snow-white beast stood up, sauntering along the young human's shoulder, occasionally hopping a little.

Chen Moqing raised his hand, and the little snow-white beast leapt into his palm, shaking its fur fluffily, lifting its little head high.

Chen Moqing's other hand came to rest on that little head as well, feeling this small fluffy ball nuzzle against him energetically.

His gaze stirred faintly, and without a word, he lowered his eyelashes.

The room fell quiet, the young cultivator holding the little snow-white beast that tugged and played at the hem of his robe, closing his eyes to cultivate.

His spiritual sense sank into the spiritual sea, where his inner demon sat cross-legged, sneering coldly at him.

"As long as you do not sever me, you will never surpass the Golden Core to reach Nascent Soul."

"Could it be that you would waste two years' time for this great demon? Could it be that you have already forgotten the blood feud of the past, willing to drink down this cup of poisoned honey?"

Chen Moqing hovered suspended above the spiritual sea, his robes drifting in the wind, calmly looking down upon his inner demon.

"My Dao follows my own heart as well."

The inner demon stepped forward, one step at a time, rising into the sky until level with him: "The great path of ascension to heaven demands the severing of the seven emotions, the extinguishing of the six desires, achieving a state without sorrow or joy, without feeling or love, seeing all living beings as mere straw dogs."

Chen Moqing smiled faintly.

He said: "If I were to sever feeling and achieve a state without emotion, then that would not be the me of today."

The spiritual sea surged and roiled, stirring up great waves, the wind and rain turning sudden and fierce, and only the young cultivator stood quietly, like a solitary boat amid the storm.

"The Dao I walk is not a Dao without feeling."

"I see all living beings as I see myself; the waxing and waning, the failure to achieve perfection—this too is the ordinary sentiment of the world, and this too is the Dao."

The moment these words settled, the roiling spiritual sea instantly calmed, becoming like a flawless mirror, reflecting the white-robed inner demon and the black-robed cultivator.

The inner demon crossed his arms, bending forward in laughter.

"Still so fond of speaking such righteous-sounding grand words—then let us see… just how far your Dao can carry you, whether it will wither away as soon as tomorrow!"

Chen Moqing likewise smiled and raised his hand.

Above his palm, a bright red token appeared.

The Token of Withered Wood Spring Revival Decree!

Dong!

The inner demon was struck directly down into the spiritual sea, stirring up a thousand layers of waves.

Chen Moqing slowly opened his eyes, returning to the waking world.

Between his knees, the hem of his robe, resting naturally over his legs, bulged into a round, plump little shape, with a small tuft of snow-white fur peeking out at the edge.

He gently lifted the hem of his robe, gazing for two seconds at that little snow-white fluffy ball underneath, then let the hem fall back down.

...

The Ten Thousand Demons Assembly was ultimately held as scheduled, at a location on a towering peak a hundred li from the Demon Emperor's cave abode.

On this day, the sky was dim and overcast, clouds surging and churning, several figures standing high amid the clouds, a surging pressure bearing down without end.

At the summit of the tall peak, the Vermillion Bird stood with hands clasped behind his back, his crimson robes blazing fiercely: "What, not even bothering to pretend anymore?"

At his sides, several Demon Kings encircled the peak, even the lowest in cultivation at the Early Void Refinement stage, pairs of blazing demonic eyes gazing coldly upward.

Above the clouds, the Sacred Sparrow Demon King, Qing Fen, stood silently off to one side, several Jinwu Sect insignias fluttering before him in the wind, as if in ancient times, when ten suns hung in the sky, scorching the earth.

Four at the Body Integration stage, six at Void Refinement!

"There must be just cause for raising an army; everything must have proper grounds." The Third Elder of the Jinwu Sect, leading the group, carried the aura of one at the peak of the Body Integration stage, speaking with an indifferent smile, "The envoy dispatched by the Vermillion Bird Demon King killed the Sacred Sparrow Demon King's son and destroyed the Sacred Sparrow clan's territory. The demon realm's internal strife begins this very day."

The Vermillion Bird laughed loudly: "Qing Fen! You betrayed the demon realm just to be a dog for the human race?"

Beside the Third Elder of the Jinwu Sect, Qing Fen looked down coldly upon the Vermillion Bird, the corner of his mouth curling: "The Vermillion Bird Demon King devoted his whole heart to the demon realm, and still couldn't save his own dao companion."

The Vermillion Bird's expression suddenly darkened, and without a word, he drew his bow and loosed an arrow!

Crimson feathers tore through the vast sky, and Qing Fen plummeted straight to the ground, sparrow feathers stained with blood scattering across the heavens!

The Vermillion Bird lowered the crimson Flowing Fire longbow, saying indifferently: "No improvement whatsoever."

"A beast is a beast, incapable of understanding human speech." The Third Elder of the Jinwu Sect raised his palm, his cold voice carrying through the vast sky, "Formation— Jinwu Sun-Concealing Array!"

Ten Elders of the Jinwu Sect formed hand seals, radiant light bursting forth from their bodies, condensing into ten great wheels of golden blazing suns, sealing off the vast sky, illuminating the earth!

Jinwus concealing the sun, a single hand covering the heavens! The sect-guarding great array of the Jinwu Sect, one that had once slain a Mahayana cultivator!

"What fine methods!" The Vermillion Bird stepped forward, raising his bow once more, the crimson Flowing Fire aimed straight at the towering suns above, "While this King was fighting and slaughtering in the Demon Abyss, none of you knew where to cower in hiding, and now you all come one after another to court death!"

Before the crimson-feathered arrow could be loosed, vast and boundless thunder swept across the sky, piercing through the ten wheels of suns; in an instant, across a thousand zhang of firmament, blazing silver-white tore apart the sky full of golden radiance!

A brilliant sea of silver thunder rose and fell, and a powerful, massive snow-white demonic beast stood upon the empty air, its fur flying wildly, transforming into countless sharp bolts of thunder.

Its cold crimson demonic pupils blazed like the sun hanging in the sky, looking down from on high upon the Jinwu Sect, dignified and stern, as if it were a sovereign ruling over the demon realm.

The Third Elder of the Jinwu Sect retreated three steps before steadying his stance, then slowly smiled.

"When did the demon realm gain another great demon at the Body Integration stage… interesting, how interesting."

"All of you, why do you still not make your move?"

The moment these words fell, several Demon Kings beside the Vermillion Bird all turned their directions, their blades aimed straight at the Vermillion Bird!

Turning coats in the midst of battle, internal strife among the Demon Kings!

The Vermillion Bird slowly lowered the longbow in his hand—his gaze sweeping one by one over his former kin.

"Why?" He spoke only these two words.

"As for the reason behind it, why should the Vermillion Bird Demon King pretend not to know?"

A figure strolled out unhurriedly, golden robes billowing—none other than the Third Elder of the Tianshu Sect, Gongsun Qing.

He smiled as he looked toward Cang Shun, his tone exceedingly gentle: "They will naturally choose us, because… those Demon Kings who once rendered service fighting in the Demon Abyss also wish to go on living, don't they."

Atop the towering peak, Qing Fen, who had been struck down, slowly rose to his feet, blood-stained sparrow feathers falling away, black marks crawling across his deathly pale skin— a dark, gloomy flame was burning his left arm.

Not only him—black flames of the same kind had ignited on different parts of the bodies of most of the Demon Kings surrounding the Vermillion Bird!

The inextinguishable black flames burned their bodies inch by inch, a monstrous demonic energy ceaselessly devouring their souls.

"Even a Demon King, even one with cultivation reaching the heavens, cannot withstand this curse…"

A hoarse voice slowly sounded, coming from the Crimson Flood Dragon Demon King: "For the sake of this mortal realm, our sovereign has been gone for over a thousand years, leaving us behind, suffering day after day, unable to find release…"

The White Tiger's four paws stamped the ground, his eyes cold and deep: "Vermillion Bird, how fortunate you are, never having suffered the erosion of the Demon Abyss… but wasn't your dao companion, three thousand years ago, burned to death by her own hand precisely because she could not withstand the Demon Abyss's corrosion?"

The Vermillion Bird staggered back a step, his fingers digging deep into his longbow.

Gongsun Qing's smiling voice drifted down on the wind: "Rest assured, all of you Demon Kings, we of the human race have gathered the wisdom of our many great talents, and have already researched a method to withstand the Demon Abyss's corrosion. Join us, and you need never endure such suffering again."

In that instant, boundless fury ignited in Cang Shun's eyes, scorching that expanse of crimson.

So that was how it was!

No wonder, a thousand years ago, most of the Demon Kings of the demon realm had withdrawn from the world and appeared no more, and no wonder the demon realm had withered to this state!

In days past, he had sealed the Demon Abyss with his own body, and all that was exchanged for it was five thousand years of peace. In that battle, how many of his kin had fallen, and how many more had clawed their way back from the brink of death with their lives barely intact… most of the Demon Kings present today had once given everything to seal the Demon Abyss.

In the end, what awaited them was not merit recognized by the Heavenly Dao, but the corrosion of the Demon Abyss, decay taking hold of their very bodies!

Fury blazed fierce in Cang Shun's eyes, as if to burn through that dim and gloomy sky. The former Demon Emperor raised his head, roaring in fury toward the heavens: "Heavenly Dao!"

The enraged roar tore through the sky, reaching straight to the boundless firmament above!

In that instant, ten thousand bolts of heavenly thunder crashed down! Heaven and earth changed color, the Lord of Heaven's eyes blazed with wrath!

——Heavenly Punishment!

All who defied the Heavenly Dao would be struck down and slain by the Heavenly Dao!

Cang Shun neither dodged nor evaded, standing alone upon the earth, charging fiercely straight into the Heavenly Punishment—

In the space of a single breath, ten thousand leaves burst into new life, the once-barren peak growing lush with branches and leaves, verdant and lush as if dripping with green, as though a scene of spring had bloomed forth, a magnificent curtain of ten thousand springs unfurling into a grand canopy, sheltering the Demon Emperor beneath it!

The young cultivator in dark robes appeared at the Demon Emperor's side, his brow and features sharp and keen, two fingers raised together pointing toward the sky, a bright red token held high between his fingers!

The Token of Withered Wood Spring Revival Decree!

Wielding an immortal's token, against the power of the Heavenly Dao!

In the very next moment, the Heavenly Punishment descended in full before them!

"Come, then, let us fight!"

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